Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, front, escapes the grasp of Arizona State defensive end James Brooks during the second half of an NCAA football game Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010, in Tempe, Ariz. Stanford won 17-14.

Photo: Matt York, AP

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, front, escapes the grasp of...

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Stanford running back Tyler Gaffney is tackled by Arizona State linebacker Brandon Magee (8) and Arizona State safety Eddie Elder (2) during the second half of an NCAA football game Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010, in Tempe, Ariz.

Stanford got the fight it expected from Arizona State. After running roughshod over opponents most of the season, the Cardinal were trailing with less than six minutes left.

Then Andrew Luck's brilliance and ASU's penchant for penalties swung the game for the Cardinal. They escaped Sun Devil Stadium with a 17-13 win Saturday night in a game that, as Luck said, "tested our mettle."

Fullback Owen Marecic scored on a 1-yard plunge with 5:14 left, giving Stanford a 9-1 record for the first time since 1951. That team, under Chuck Taylor, lost only to Cal in the regular season before losing to Illinois in the Rose Bowl. This year's team (6-1 Pac-10) might be headed to Pasadena or another BCS bowl.

Until the winning drive of 85 yards, though, the Sun Devils (4-6, 2-5) looked like the toughest defense Stanford has seen.

Luck, who earlier had lost a fumble and thrown just his seventh interception of the season, threw another pick to safety Eddie Elder early in the drive. But it was erased by a holding penalty against star linebacker Vontaze Burfict.

Then, on a 3rd-and-1 play, Luck was under heavy pressure from end James Brooks and threw off his back foot, but somehow found tight end Konrad Reuland for a 13-yard gain. A short completion to Doug Baldwin turned into a big gainer when Burfict was assessed a controversial 15-yard face-mask penalty, then a 7-yard, half-the-distance-to-the-goal penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

With the ball on the ASU 7, Stanford quickly scored the winner. Marecic's score, his second of the game, was one big yard on a night when rushing yards were hard to come by. Stanford rushed for 128 yards, 95 below its average.

When ASU got the ball back after Marecic's score, linebacker Marecic ranged 30 yards downfield to break up a pass. A sack by Shayne Skov on quarterback Steven Threet - Stanford's lone sack in the game - wrecked the Sun Devils' last chance.

The Cardinal killed the final four minutes - with an unusual strategy at the end. Freshman Anthony Wilkerson was on his way to a 23-yard touchdown but slid down untouched at the 4. "Man, a touchdown would have been nice," he said. "But (Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh) told us to slide and kill the clock."

There was a minute and a half left, and Harbaugh said he had told Wilkerson during a timeout not to score if he broke free.

"We call it a get-down victory," Harbaugh said. "We get the first down, we win the game. We can kneel on it two times, and the game will be over."

Had Wilkerson scored, Stanford would have led 24-13, but it would still have been remotely possible for ASU to tie it or pull the game out with the help of an onside kick.

Without wide receiver Chris Owusu, who has an undisclosed injury, Baldwin had career highs with 10 catches for 122 yards, even though he called Omar Bolden "the best cornerback I've faced in my career."

Luck completed 33 of 41 passes for 292 yards, including a remarkable throw to Baldwin in the second quarter. Grabbed from behind, Luck was falling down but got off a 43-yard pass. "That's pretty special," Harbaugh said.